Professional Development

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Education World: Computers in the High School Classroom

Discussion of issues surrounding this topic and easy ways to begin integrating technology

The Fischbowl

An educator's blog, full of thought provoking comments on the process of change in education

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Polyvision Workshop - 2/25/2008

Presenter: Carissa Bailey
(678) 542-3176
cbailey@polyvision.com
Webster software is just (literally) an electronic whiteboard. You can take pictures (snapshots) as you write on the board. You can then post those snapshots on your website for students to view from home (they will need to download the Webster software - for free - before they can view them at home). Another cool feature: Playback. Students can watch the writing take place. Great for solving equations and other step-by-step lessons.

Webster is the software that powers the whiteboard, so it must ALWAYS be running when you are using the board. If you are using Easiteach, the Internet, Power Point, or any other software, and you want the board to be interactive, Webster must also be open.

Settings
  • Set your Playback preference to "Optimized" rather than "Real Time" so that the students don't have to sit through an entire presentation just to get to the part they want to see. Other preferences include, default pen color, turn sounds off and on, Auto-Save features, number of points you want to use to calibrate the board.
  • To re-calibrate the board - touch the "Projection" button on the side and the calibration screen opens.
  • Backdrops - You can use any picture from your computer (clip art, photos, etc) to use as your whiteboard backdrop. You can download premade backdrops from www.polyvision.com. Go to Services --> Downloads, click on "Mac" and then "TS Series Interactive Whiteboards." You can also find the user guide and other useful downloads here.

Export Images
  • Under Settings you can decide what file type you want your snapshots to export as (PDF, JPEG, etc)
  • Go to File --> Export Image
  • Give it a name and change the file type (if you don't want the default)

Floating Toolbar
  • Far right button - shade. Allows you to show only a portion of the screen at a time.
    • Spotlight button is similar to that.
Stylus
  • No batteries - your finger will work just as well (but you have to push harder)
  • Call tech support to get a new stylus

Eraser
  • Two options - narrow or wide
  • Can use the button on the side or the one on the toolbar

Highlighter
  • Allows you to highlight over text you already wrote (yellow button on the toolbar)

Pen thickness
  • 3 widths - skinny, medium, and thick (buttons are on the toolbar)

Internet
  • Keep Webster running
  • Open Safari or Firefox
  • Use the pen or highlighter tools to annotate over a website
    • links in site will not be clickable ("dead" or static webpage)
  • Use the arrow tool to make the links in the site active (be aware - changing from the pen to the arrow will permanently erase all of the marks you have made on the page. If you want to save them, take a snapshot before you click the arrow tool).

http://polyvision.wikispaces.com

  • Created by Carissa as a resource for teachers who are using Polyvision boards in their classrooms.
  • Available for you to view - if you want to contribute, sign up for a wikispaces account